Tony Brooks

The twin float plus the float chamber wrapping halfway around the venturi is deigned so that the effect any likely any angle of installation does not affect the mixture too much. I did wonder if the heat range of the plugs were too cool, but as the centre cone is brownish, I think rich mixture is more likely than cold plugs. Look at plugs listed for an Austin A30, A35, or OHV Morris Minor to check what they are supposed to be - I don't think they lowered the compression ratio on the marine units, so they should be the same plugs. I just noticed - "carbs" plural. I am unaware that any standard Vedette ever had twin carbs, but there is always the possibility someone tried tuning it. If that is the case, then all bets are off because we have no idea what has been done. Just wondering if a small engine Mini inlet manyfold and SU carb might fit, not that I am suggesting you try it.

But what is the float height? The float hinge looks as if it has been bent to me. You can mess about with the jet size as much as you like, but if the float height is wrong, the best you will do is cover the float height fault up. I don't know what the float height should be, and fear it will take a bit of finding. Please don't guess, you need proper figures. Where do you find the main jet - if it is the one in the photo, then it is an air jet for the emulsion tube. It is a long time ago, but I seem to recall that the main jet is in the bottom of the float chamber.

I will stick me neck out. I suspect two problems. 1. The packing has dried out and has a dry glazed face on it. 2. There is every chance the shaft is worn to a waist under the packing. You can't do much about 2 until the boat is next out of the water and I suspect changing the packing may be too much for you, but I don't think that you will do any significant extra damage by running as it is, as long as the gland does not start smoking/steaming. Just keep it well lubricated.

Those plugs say it is running very rich, the fuel drips says flooding. change the float needle valve and ensure that you get the correct seating washer, then see ho it goes. So no external capacitor in the ignition unit, but that does not mean something is not breaking down when hot, but sort the carb first.

I am afraid my experience is that that is not a given. There is often a large disparity between mechanical knowledge and experience and electrical. We don't even know how the splitter is wired up. The cost makes me suspect it may be a passive diode type slitter with provision to control the charge source if it is compatible.

The splitter won't care if it is fed current from a mains charger, alternator solar controller or anything else. However, I am sure that the MPPT needs to sense battery voltage and some/many charge splitters are not bi-directional, so that may introduce complications. As I am too hot to go trawling through the Victron site to get the specifications for the OP's unit I can't say more. Yes, diagram required, but it seems a very odd system to me. It is not making best use of the available battery capacity. The lower the charge rate as a percentage of battery capacity, the more effective the charge, but that is a minor consideration. The opposite is true, the lower the discharge rate compared with battery capacity, the higher the effective battery capacity. I would have recommended that you leave the MPPT as it is and use a VSR to parallel the domestic bank when the inverter bank was being charged from any source. easy to understand and when the contacts are closed bi-directional (not to e confused with bi-directional VSRs) Do you have and know how to use a digital multimeter so we can suggest some tests.

Which won't be very hot because paint does not burn off chimney collars, plus his external chimney is double skinned and insulated. It may be different if he ran the stove hard with no chimney and the wind as in the wrong direction, but I doubt it. Also, it is reported that flues often fail just at the base of the collar caused by condensation, that indicates the roof and collar acts as a good heat sink and cools the flue.

Why you need two banks is beyond me, one 4 battery banks serving both the inverter and the 12v domestics is simpler and has advantages. I can see the reason for this setup on a hire boat. What exactly is this splitter? If it is a passive diode device then that will rob you of around half a volt of charging voltage, which is a lot in a charging circuit. If no current was being drawn, then the only logical explanation for the rapid fall in voltage is a cell or cells suffering internal shorts. When charging (probably from the alternator) do you get any funny smells (rotten eggs) or localised hot spots on the batteries.

I think that for some weird reason the OP has two batteries feeding the 12V domestic load, and two more feeding the inverter for the TV, or they have misunderstood how the boat is wired. If you are absolutely sure that there is no current being drawn, then I suspect that a cell or cells have started shorting. If so it is vital that you disconnect the batteries until you can sort them out. If you leave them connected and charging, you may well end up with an explosion and acid all over the place. At this time of year solar will help cover up all sorts of battery problems until they get close to critical. 12v to 12.9v, even allowing for surface charge is an exceptionally quick charge, so I also suspect they are sulphated very badly so now have very little capacity.

What you say about what comes out when you manage to restart is suggest to me one of two things, in no particular order: 1. the engine is badly worn, so the plugs oil up, the dry/drip enough to let it starts, with the black being burned oil. 2. Possibly the more likely given you say "soot" is that heat is causing a component in the ignition system to fail, so you get a build up of petrol in the cylinders and manifold. What type of electronic ignition system you have not told us, but some still use the contacts and the capacitor/condenser. If you have a condenser, I would change it. For others information, I think this is an up draft carburettor, not the semi-side draft SU fitted to later versions. The drip from the carb is likely to be flooding caused by the float needle valve being worn or incorrectly set too high. That could soot the plugs up, and cause it to stop. So what colour are the ends of the plugs (and tips) if you take them out as soon as it stops - or even now. Post a photo. I think the needle valve sat on a single special washer, so unless that has been removed a leaking seat is more likely.

The thing I called a distance piece just might be part of the front portion of the gland, and if so it is all fairly conventional, loosen the hexagon and then tighten the gland. The packing might be inside the end piece and pressing on the end of the flange casting, or there could be a pusher under the end piece with the packing inside the flange casting.

I wonder if what I called a distance piece is just that and the thing I suggested was a hexagon nipple is the locknut on a length of threaded tube, but if so, I have no idea what stops the threaded tube unscrewing from the "flange" housing. It looks a little as if that "threaded tube" may be part of the supposed flange, and if so, I would loosen the hexagon to see what happens and what moves.

Hope that’s clear enough Sorry Mike, I have never seen one like that before, but this is what I think you may have. If you look just in front of the greaser entry point, you can see a thread and then a hexagon. That looks to me as if that part may eb a hexagon nipple that joins the gland to the stern tube. Then you have what looks like a distance piece, but I suspect it is the body of the gland itself. I would be very wary of that coming undone because I think that would result in a lot of water ingress. Next you have a hexagon that may or may not be a locking nut BUT if that is, so I would expect the barrel in front of it to have some means of turning it for adjustment. There seems to be no such features and also no sign of surplus thread behind the lock nut, but that may be because all the adjustment has been taken up. I suspect that the barrel thing at the front contains the packing, but there does not seem to be sufficient length for much packing or much adjustment. I know that you don't want to hear this, but unless you can find out exactly what you have, then I would be very reluctant to try the job while afloat. Is there anywhere that you can let it dry out between tides so you have a few hours to bodge up some kind of seal if the worst happens. I think that you need to repost this on the YBW forums, where there will be far more yachtsmen who may have come across one like this in the past. Sorry. I think that there is a flange under that GRP, but how it is located I have no idea. It may be bolted in from the back of the keel. So look for nuts on the inside (no sign of any), or the ends of the bolts, they may stand proud a little, sit flush, or be recessed. If you find any, then I very much doubt that you will break the stern gear out of the GRP. Unfortunately, I doubt that you are able to go swimming to feel for nuts or screw heads on the back of the keel. I seem to recall seeing countersunk brass/bronze slotted screws in this situation, but don't hold me to that. There may be no stern tube as such, just a housing for the rear bearing sticking out from the back of the keel, if so that is probably screwed onto a short nipple and the bolted to the flange.

Thanks, yes, I forgot about that. I wonder if the advance diaphragm has failed. Easy enough to check if you give it a suck, but at the risk of getting a mouth full of petrol because the diaphragm chamber sometimes fill up. However, that don't usually stop it starting.

It seems one or two have, and given time scales and their observations of how it lasts. They have also do so in the many other threads on the topic.

So, as I said, pushing his commercial interest. It also calls into question your assertion that he is an expert in prepping hulls for anything other than a traditional blacking. By his own and your own admission, he is not an expert on hull prep for epoxy coating, and does not have the amount of expertise in it that you seem to claim - he simply does not do it, so he has zero expertise.

No, I am not going back to check, but you claimed that epoxy coating fail because of surface contamination of the steel, you also claim that the ONLY way to get the metal clean is by blasting. Even the link you gave to justify your comments about epoxy falling off in sheets all over the system claimed the cause was mill scale. Yet your claim that the surface has to be blasted seemed to be ignored in the video, they seem to use rotary grinders/abrasives. So even your link contradicted your claims. That is fine, you believe someone who has a commercial interest in promoting a certain line, rather than those with experience who have no hidden agenda other than to help others. Just do as you want and stick bitumen over the rust spots, then when/if you ever want to redo it in epoxy you will have to face getting the bitumen off the hull and the hull clean enough for epoxy to adhere, but that is OK because the "experts" told you it is the correct way.

I think he has form in this, he levied a similar charge against me.

There is also the fabric covered hose connected to a thin metal pipe. This seems to come from below the throttle butterfly and venturi. I can't think what that would be for on a boat. On a car, it might be to provide a depression to work pneumatic windscreen wipers or cab heater controls. One thing for sure is that if that metal pipe is open to the air it would cause the engine to run weak and possibly not start. I would love to know what that connection is for in this boat. I am not saying this is wrong (not that much Ford experience), but I note that float chamber "breather" is connected to a point between the air cleaner and choke butterfly. This means that the float chamber will be subject to whatever pressure there is at that point so the petrol flow thorugh the jet(s) will automatically compensate for any depression, or lack of it, cause by the air cleaner.

If seems to me that the OP has not distinguished the method by which mill scale causes paint systems to fail. If the mill scale has not been thoroughly degreased and abraded then any paint system is likely to fall off the mill scale, just as it would if steel with no mill scale was left smooth, oily and dirty. However, if the mill scale has been thoroughly degreased and abraded then the paint system will adhere to it BUT as soon as the paint film is damaged or is slightly porous then rust well creep under the mill scale causing it to fall off, which will bring the paint film off with it. That is not a failure of the paint system to adhere, but a failure of the mill scale to adhere once rust sets in. How the mill scale is removed is optional, as long as it is. Blasting, course sanding/grinding disks, or buying pre-treated steel, as a few boat builders do/have done, are all options. Once again, it seems he takes an individual opinion and these on-line videos at face value, rather than doing a bit of research across a variety of sources and forming his own opinion. One thing is for sure, epoxy has been shown to be far superior and long-lasting to bitumen in water tanks and the one place where access makes perfect preparation almost impossible, so that in itself suggest epoxy is often surface prep tolerant to a degree.